Need to decide on M&A offer (EMEA)
Hey guys,
I have to choose between two full-time M&A offers:
1) GS/MS/JPM in Paris/Frankfurt/Milan
2) CS/DB/BAML in London
In the longer-term, I would like to do buyside (probably HF) in London. Which one do you think would put me in a better position for buyside recruiting 2-3 years from now? I spoke to a major recruiter in London today and he said they definitely do consider candidates from Continental Europe offices, but London is viewed as more competitive. But given that my continental offer is at GS/MS/JPM, this becomes quite tricky for me. Any constructive thoughts would be highly appreciated.
London hands down - you want to be in the brand name center of all the deal flow, not to mention networking/interviewing with buyside shops which are predominantly there
Dude, you better get this straight.
I'm going to assume it's GS/MS FFM office. I've seen people make solid exits from both, not sure about HFs though. In case you're still skeptical of the location, both firms let you move internally to a different office for the 3rd year and I've seen people move to NYC/Menlo Park
Thanks - what kind of exits have you seen? And where those opps in London or Cont. Europe? I'm trying to get a handle on how difficult it is to exit from a regional office to London after the Analyst stint. It's hard to imagine that recruiters will accomodate that many regional candidates given they are probably already swamped with London resumes.
MS FFM -> KKR London most recently. I think it depends on the strength of regional office. If it were BAML FFM vs UBS London, UBS would be better since BAML is known to execute transactions from London office, leaving Frankfurt analysts with limited exposure.
I saw people from regional offices of BBs moving to LDN/NY, as well as people moving directly to PE in LDN. If I were you, I would pick the best brand and then try to move internally.
Thanks for your input - the tradeoff here is indeed great brand at regional office vs. okay brand in London. You're right, the third analyst year can be spent at any global office, and if I'm good enough I can do associate 1+2 in London as well. Just have to keep in mind that associate 3 is probably too late for buyside.
I think you can move before analyst 3, provided there is a job opening in another office. Then I think associate 3 is a bit late but not impossible.
Would go to London, especially when it is BAML. It is true that it is possible to do banking in Continental Europe and then transfer to a top-notch buyside gig in London, everything is possible as you now. However, it's much more of an uphill battle to do so than if you are already an analyst in London. The top shops will look at DB, CS, BAML, the usual Goldman or bust mentality is more of a uni student thing. Joining DB/CS/BAML will give you a lot of opportunities for buyside recruiting, both for PE and HF in London or elsewhere.
Also, I got the career advice from quite a lot of people to start the career in a financial centre like London or NYC and then after few years if you want to settle down, go to your home country / continental Europe / Dubai / whatever. But it is very valuable to start in a financial centre, both for the learning experience (most talent in the European finanical sector is still in London) and also for the CV.
I actually had a quite similar decision to make, top 3 bank in Continental Europe or elite boutique in London and went for London. As I am from a Continental European country and have many friends in banking there, they say they have plenty opportunity to get a megafund buyside job there, but it is more diffcult - but not impossible - to get a job in London or elsewhere.
The KEAs, Blackwoods and Hinton Roses have enough talent to fill their buyside jobs in London without looking to the continent.
Thanks man - always immensely helpful to hear your thoughts!
Hey guys,
it's been a long time since my last post, I'd like to update you on my final decision. I decided for GS/MS/JPM in the continental Europe office instead of CS/DB in London, because:
1) I love the better brand. 2) I have certainty about doing mostly M&A execution work across all industry sectors; while in London it wasn't even certain at the time which team I'll be placed in. Oil&Gas and FIG wouldn't have been unlikely, and I definitely didn't want to do that. 3) I would like to develop a long-term career in my home country anyway.
Best
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